Can Mauritius become the Singapore of the Indian Ocean?

Since the election of the Alliance Lepep government, we have constantly heard about a second economic miracle in the country. However, can Mauritius catch up on the delay, such as in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in order to become the Singapore of the African continent?

When will Mauritius turn its dream of becoming the Singapore of the Indian Ocean into a reality? Indeed, since the election of the Alliance Lepep government in 2014, and even years before, we have been hearing about how Mauritius has been planning to become like Singapore, which is considered as one of the four Asian tigers. The Alliance Lepep government had even promised a second economic miracle along this line. For example, in 2010, Mauritius obtained the first rank by the Mo Ibrahim Index for good governance in Africa. However, various questions arise if this is really achievable when looking at the performance of Mauritius, such as the growth rate that has barely exceeded 4% since the last five years.

Amar Deerpalsing : “We have a long way to go”

According to the President of the Association of SMEs, the answer to the question is very simple. “Just consider the number of Mauritian students who take part in the SC exams. We have around 8,000 students who sit for the exams and only 75% will succeed. This means that around 3,000 of them will be lost in the system. However, in Singapore, nearly 93% to 95% of students will pass the SC. Thus for us to become like Singapore, we need our children to succeed, we need skills, training, intellectual as well as academic capacities,” explains Amar Deerpalsing.

He underlines how Mauritius was performing very well on various levels in the 1970s and 1980s. “Mauritius had one of the first institutions in Africa to dispense courses. For example, the Sugar Tech course at the University of Mauritius gathered people from countries around the world in our island. We had the sugar sector doing very well with research centres such as the MSIRI, among others. However today, we are no longer performing well in the sugar industry. It barely exists. We are not even enjoying any commercial preferences. So how can we measure ourselves with Singapore?”, he argues.

Among our HSC students, 3,000 of them will go and study abroad but will not return to the country. We have been suffering from a brain drain. In this context, we will not be able to become the Singapore of the Indian Ocean if we do not change our mentalities."

Amar Deerpalsing states that Mauritius does possess human resources like Singapore but there is a huge dilemma. “Among our HSC students, 3,000 of them will go and study abroad but will not return to the country. We have been suffering from a brain drain. In this context, we will not be able to become the Singapore of the Indian Ocean if we do not change our mentalities. Take for example people going to seek help with the Prime Minister at the CAB office, the Prime Minister doing speeches in socio-cultural events.”

The President of the Association of SMEs highlights that Mauritius has 20 years to catch up with Singapore. “In terms of GDP, we were on the same level with Singapore in 1997 where we attained $8 million. Our GDP has only grown to $12.16 billion currently and theirs is way far ahead, around $ 200 billion currently.”

Amar Deerpalsing trusts that the population must also contribute and act as stakeholders to achieve the goal. “If you tell a Mauritian to work overtime or odd hours, he is not willing to do it. If all Mauritians want to work in the public sector, what will happen to emerging ones like the IT and others?”, he inquires. Amar Deerpalsing further adds that “if we want to hire a foreign worker in our enterprises, it is difficult to do so due to the paper and procedure complications. Whereas in Singapore, there is a policy of “Personalised Employment Pass” where foreign workers and skilled labours benefit from many facilities. So, I believe that we still have a long way to go.”

Arvind Nilmadhub : “Mauritius can achieve more than Singapore and should be the Monaco of Africa”

The economist trusts that instead of Mauritius replicating the Singaporean model, we should create our own model. “The model of Singapore has been what the Government of Mauritius has aspired at.  However, we cannot replicate Singapore but actually, use the Singaporean model and improve on it,” says Arvind Nilamdhub. Indeed, he believes that “Mauritius can achieve more than Singapore and should be the Monaco of Africa.”

Mauritius is being recognized as a logistics and financial hub.  However, there is another aspect which Mauritius can tap in, which is our culture.  Our biggest strengths are our people.  Mauritius has a well-educated and a diverse population consisting of a variety of religions and cultures."

The Executive Director of Afribrains Ltd explains that Mauritius has many assets to achieve it. “Mauritius is being recognized as a logistics and financial hub.  However, there is another aspect which Mauritius can tap in, which is our culture.  Our biggest strengths are our people.  Mauritius has a well-educated and a diverse population consisting of a variety of religions and cultures. Mauritius can become a cultural platform to promote cultural tourism.”

Arvind Nilamdhub further adds that “the Government is already working on a plan to make the country move to the higher income bracket.  However, there is more to be done and good communication by the Government with Mauritians is very important.” The economist thus trusts that Mauritians should become stakeholders in the plan. “Mauritians should be able to understand the importance of a Government plan.  For example, in 2001, when the Illovo deal was done, lots of people were criticizing the Government.  However, now there are thousands of Mauritians working in Ebene.  Thus, it is very important for the population to understand the importance of long term projects of any Government.”